MILAN: A long-range strike by defender Gianluca Mancini fired AS Roma into Serie A’s Champions League places with the only goal in Sunday’s 1-0 win over Juventus, while Inter Milan beat Lecce 2-0 with goals from Henrikh Mkhi­taryan and Lautaro Martinez to regain second place.

Italy defender Mancini let rip with a perfectly-struck shot six minutes after half-time of a tight contest in Rome, lifting Roma up to fourth with his first goal of the season and ending the visitors’ unbeaten run of seven games in all competitions.

Roma, who became the first Serie A side to be beaten by lowly Cremonese on Tuesday, moved back into fourth in the standings on 47 points — three points behind Inter, one point behind third-placed Lazio and level with AC Milan in fifth, in their bid to secure a first top-four finish in five years.

Jose Mourinho’s team are 12 points ahead of eighth-placed Juve who played the final minutes a man down following a moment of madness from substitute Moise Kean, who booted Mancini to the ground just 40 seconds after being brought on as a late substitute.

“We won because the players gave everything... it was the players’ attitude which won the match tonight,” said Mourinho to DAZN. “We’re a team that when we’re on it, we’re on it, but we need to be aware of our limitations. When you know them you play to hide them and you get results.”

Champions League football looks increasingly unlikely for Juve, who hit the woodwork three times on a frustrating night, unless their 15-point penalty for illicit transfer activity is overturned on appeal.

Goals in each half from Mkhitaryan and Martinez gave Inter the points against promoted Lecce and slightly closed the giant gap between them and Napoli to 15 points.

Inter took the lead just before the half-hour mark through Mkhitaryan’s first-time finish before Martinez doubled the lead eight minutes into the second half.

However, the league title is still a distant hope despite Napoli’s shock home defeat to third-placed Lazio on Friday night.

Lecce, in 15th, have been a thorn in the side of Italy’s big boys this season but offered very little at a subdued San Siro.

Defeat didn’t have much impact on Lecce’s survival hopes as they are nine points above Verona, who are just inside the relegation zone and drew 0-0 with fellow strugglers Spezia earlier on Sunday.

Verona are three points behind a Spezia team hovering dangerously above the drop zone and six ahead of troubled bottom side Sampdoria.

Without a win in nine and weighed down by financial problems, Samp only managed a goalless draw with Saler­nitana in Sunday’s early match.

Salernitana are also trying to beat the drop and the uneve­ntful stalemate in Genoa kept Paulo Sousa’s side seven points ahead of Verona.

Published in Dawn, March 7th, 2023